Which are the smoothest/have the softest ride? I'm ridin' on sawblades which should help, but I might upgrade to some OEM 17s. Would that kill the ride further?

 

Stock.

All lowering springs have a much stiffer ride than OEM. Fact of life.

 

which non-OEM springs listed here have the smoothest ride?

 

H&R'S

 

Yep, you didn't list the softest ones... H&R's have the closest to stock ride... and 17's will make it a bit stiffer...

 

I have gone from Sprint --> Eibach --> H&R

H&Rs are the smoothest of these. But, they are still quite a bit stiffer than OEM.

 

I added a choice to the poll...

 

do h&rs have a decent drop (IMO >-1.5")?

 

What about Ground Control Coilovers? Are they a better ride than springs like H&R or Eibach? Thanks.

 

Ground controls are very rough, just like most all coilovers. All racing suspensions are stiff. Definately rougher than H&R and probably rouger than Eibach.

More information about suspension parts:
http://drewm.dyndns.org/~drew/maxfaq...ximaSuspension

 

love my H&R's except for the drop being between around what 1.6" i think? not enough, but thats ok with me..

 

this is a poll many people cant answer because a lot of people arent even dropped let alone messed with more than one type of spring. I have sprint, driven in a car with H&R's and another with eichabcs but both had different rims, different weight due to system, there are many things that factor to show what is the smoothest, i would think the one with smallest drop leaves most smooth drive

 

also, don't forget that even tire pressure can throw off an subjective thing like ride quality, granted all other things are the same. so unless you have installed several suspensions on the exact same car with the exact same rims, tires and tire pressure AND driven it yourself back-to-back in a very short time span... there's really no way to be sure.

if you're installing performance springs and struts for just that, performance, chances are you will learn to live with a choppier and rougher ride than someone who wants springs in order to balance out their wheelgap.

 

well obviously the ride is gonna be mor rough...but i dont want it to be cd-skipping-uh-oh-help-me-find-my-fillings rough. im in nyc, but either the stock suspension is mush, or the places i drive (sunrise highway, rosedale, CIP, GCP, SSP...) are all relatively smooth. my biggest issue will prob. be this winter when i have to commute to the city from LI...but thats a trip on roads that were repaved last summer...in other words i dont think it should be a big issue.

HOWEVER, when i do have to traverse unfriendly terrain, i dont want interior panels to get jolted out of place and what-not. i want a good drop, good handling and a decent ride.

 

i live in skokie and commute everywhere from chicago to alsip to northbrook to highland park to morton grove to willmette and a million other places. so far i've yet to be more than slightly annoyed by the suspension harshness and the chicagoland area apparently has some of the worst roads in america...

 

the only opinion i have are maxsprings and they handle great. Just a little bit stiffer than stock. Still maintains the luxury ride if u set ur kyb's to the soft settings.

 

HR seems to give the most smooth ride.

 

howcome tokico springs aren't on there? i'm not sure how new they are but they sell them on custommaxima...anyone have an opinion/experience with them? when i finally do lower, i either want h & r's or the tokico ones, depending on how they are.

 

Your struts play a huge role in the way your car rides as well. KYB products are very firm and ride a little on the harsh side. Tokico products ride much smoother, fluid like and IMHO absorb bumps much better.

H&R or Eibach springs coupled with Tokico Illumina struts will give you the best ride and handling combo on a lowered vehicle.

 

ALL YOU NEED IS THIS

http://maxmods.dyndns.org/?MaximaSprings

 

what about the custommaxima/tokico spring or 4th gen tein springs?

the custommaxima front springs looks realllllly progressive with the dead coils on the top, and the 4th gen tein springs drops the car 1.5 inch the ride is probably smooth too.

 

I have the TEIN basic coilover damper setup. It is a very good ride for as low as I have it. I don't have to worry about scrapping the cross member on the rough interstate like I did last year on vacation.

Trust me it is worth the money. The struts and the springs are designed to work together and thats what they do.

 

I have eibachs and tokico blues and it's a pretty hard ride. I do live in MAss though and the roads are pretty hurrendous. Nice drop and no body roll.

 

I have driven a 4th Gen with them as well and liked them the same as the H&R equipped car another friend has.

 

i like ur max, it's nice as hell..

 

I like my ride, it's Progress/Illumina & the ride is good for me!

 

I'd blame the Tokico blues on the ride quality since they are basically OEM struts & not meant for drops. Illuminas should be much better.

 

I'm staying with the OEM. The roads in this state are in terrible condition and I like a softer ride.